This summer, Apple finally revealed the design and specifications of its new Mac Pro. It's Apple's first significantly updated tower model in a decade, and the first designed from scratch since the imposing aluminum PowerMac G5 originally arrived back in 2003. Here's a look at what the new Mac Pro will deliver for pro users and the strategy behind its radically new redesign.
Apple details the new Mac Pro at WWDC19
As first revealed this summer at WWDC19, Apple's new Mac Pro no longer aspires to be, effectively, a "souped-up Mac mini" like the 2013 Mac Pro it replaces. Instead, it dramatically goes in the other direction, offering more CPU, GPU, RAM and PCIe slot expansion than ever inside of a more conventional
But modernized tower form factor, along with an option for a rack-mounted version that allows it to be installed in a secure, climate-controlled server room.
A stainless steel "space frame" consists of two tubes on either side of the machine that spans from foot to handle to foot. The two tubes are bridged by a rigid top and bottom panel that everything else in the machine bolts to, making it modular on a level beyond any previous Mac tower.
Apple cleverly demonstrated its Mac Pro architecture at WWDC19 using an interactive virtual model that depicted the details of its interior when viewed through the Augmented Reality lens of an iPad. That's the same technology it uses to provide virtual tours inside its Apple Park Visitor Center.
The machine's aluminum housing unlocks with a turn of the handle on top, then lifts off to provide unobstructed access to the front and back. Both ends of the housing are created from milled aluminum panels.
A grid of round holes are drilled into the end panels from both sides, intersecting at an offset (below) that creates a lattice that is "more air than metal." This pattern of spherical intersections is intended to create a series of carburetor throats that create turbulent air patterns even at low fan speeds, efficiently absorbing heat before being tumbled out the back end.
At first glance, I thought the new design might be difficult to keep clean, but compared to a typical screen with tiny holes, it's no doubt easier to dust off, and the increased airflow might even help prevent dust from collecting inside. We'll see with time.
Those holes and those channels are there because there will be a lot of heat to remove. The new Mac Pro supplies a slotted Intel Xeon W CPU with options for lots of cores. Users will be able to opt for models with 8, 12, 16, 24 or 28 cores, each paired with generous 25MB to 67MB of cache, depending on processor model. The CPU also gets its own 300W thermal architecture designed to enable it to run fully unconstrained all the time.
That requires a beefy thermal sink (below) designed to dissipate heat buildup, cooled down by three impeller fans on the back that inhale cool air inside through the holes in its face, and a blower inside that pushes hot air out the holes in the back. All of this is designed to remain as quiet as possible.
On display at WWDC19, it was whisper-quiet even when hard at work.
The new Mac Pro also provides 12 RAM slots in a six-channel memory architecture accommodating DDR4 ECC modules. The fastest processor options support up to an incredible 1.5TB of installed RAM. The previous Mac Pro model could only support a total of 64GB of RAM from Apple, or 128GB using third-party modules.
The new machine can now work with 12 times as much, for users who need access to vast amounts of RAM and can afford to spend many thousands of dollars on a dozen state-of-the-art 2933MHz RAM modules. Note that the iMac Pro is "limited" to installing 256GB of RAM. The new Mac Pro can load up six times as much, but maxing out its RAM capacity will also cost more than $10,000 at present RAM pricing.
The source is the Apple Insider
